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News: World of Warcraft to Add More Customization, Diablo III to Add More Difficulty

Blizzard Entertainment has announced their upcoming 4.3 patch for World of Warcraft, which will add equipment appearance customization and new content. Further, Blizzard announced that Diablo III will include a new “Inferno” difficulty, allowing players to grind monsters capable of dropping better loot than ever.

According to the developers, there are four main additions World of Warcraft: The “Transmogrification” feature, the “Void Storage” feature, multiple raids to prelude the end of the Cataclysm expansion, and a utility to find pickup group raids more easily. Blizzard also mentioned renovations to the Darkmoon Faire, but provided no specific details.

Transmogrification, in particular, has long been requested. This feature allows players to use the services of the ethereals. By visiting these new shops, players can transfer the appearance of any item they own onto any other, with specific limitations. For example, a rogue could choose to apply the old Shadowcraft appearance to their Wind Dancer’s set for the nostalgic value. However, a rogue cannot apply the appearance of a paladin’s Judgement set to their own outfit; players are restricted to only usable items, and further by item type. A mace cannot appear to be a sword, leather armor cannot look like plate mail, and class-specific items cannot have their appearance used by the wrong class. Even with these restrictions, however, there are still plenty of possible combinations. Altering an item’s appearance will require gold based on what was used and will permanently mark the target item as having gone through the process.

The developers anticipate that the new Transmogrification feature will encourage players to hold onto old pieces of equipment, meaning players will need more storage space. For this, World of Warcraft will include the Void Storage option in patch 4.3. Void storage can be access in both Stormwind and Orgrimmar, allowing players to store up to eighty items. However, unlike a player’s bank, Void Storage requires gold every time an item is deposited or withdrawn. The idea is that sentimental or aesthetically pleasing pieces of equipment can be placed in long term storage, but anything the player intends to use on a regular basis should remain in the bank. Unfortunately, as of this writing, Void Storage will not allow enhanced items: Anything with a gem, enchantment, or other change will revert to its base stats upon being placed in Void Storage. The Void Storage is still a work in progress, so these mechanics are subject to change.

Blizzard has also mentioned the inclusion of three new five-player dungeons. One of these the developers promise will provide a wholly unique boss battle, the precise nature of which is currently a secret. Players will be able to hunt for the new twelfth tier of epic equipment. These dungeons are designed to lead in to the eventual showdown with Deathwing, but will not yet include the fight. Lastly, patch 4.3 will add a new system allowing players to find a pickup group for raids more easily. This tool is planned to be similar to the already included Dungeon Finder.

As for Diablo III, Blizzard Entertainment announced the new Inferno difficulty. Unlike previous difficulties, Inferno is designed to be consistently difficult, meaning players can find great loot at any point. This will allow more varied gameplay, even for those who simply want to find as much new gear as possible. Players must be at least level sixty and have finished the Hell difficulty setting before being able to access Inferno. However, enemies on Inferno can potentially drop unique loot not available in any other difficulty. Bragging rights are included with all drops.